LyrArc Article Gist
Turkey's inflation rate continues to rise even after a government effort in December to stabilize the economy by stabilizing the lira. Annual inflation jumped from 21% in November to 36% in December, according to the Turkey Statistical Institute. The true inflation rate could be much higher. The ENAGrup estimate after assessing thousands of prices is that true annual inflation is 82%. Ordinary Turks have difficulty affording essential food supplies, says this WSJ report.

Turkey has overdependence on the US dollar in its government and bank borrowings which has intensified the impact of the cost increases world wide with the supply chain problems and higher energy prices. Food imports now are much costlier. Depreciation of the lira currency by about 50% added to the impact of the overall global inflation. The lira has come back a bit to 40% loss of value after an unorthodox government plan, yet inflation continues to rise. Deeper problems within the economy that were hidden when the economy was in high growth years are now apparent as the world sees an inflationary surge during the second year of the pandemic.